I recently talked about folic acid and cobalamin supplements for pregnant mothers.  It turns out that vitamin B supplements may also work to slow down brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer’s disease.  If there is brain shrinkage, there is cognitive impairment (at least a mild case), and it often leads to the subject manifesting dementia.

This study,  under the direction of Dr. David Smith at the University of Oxford (England), was performed on 271 older subjects, who were already manifesting some cognitive impairment (memory lapses, language problems).  Of these, 187 agreed to undergo MRI scans of their cranium before and after the study.  Of these, 168 were involved in the actual testing of the use of vitamin B administration.  For the 2 year study, one group (85) received supplements of folic acid [vitamin B₉] (0.8mg/d), cobalamin [vitamin B₁₂] (0.5 mg/d) and pyridoxamine [vitamin B₆] (20 mg/d); the other group (83)  only received placebos.  Adherence (the fact that the patients took the drugs, as requested) was verified not just by patient statements, but by checking blood levels of the subjects.

Before the results are discussed, a basic fact must be disclosed.  After the age of 60, it is typical for the brain to shrink some 0.5% a year.  Those who suffer from mild cognitive impairment lose about twice that volume, while patients with Alzheimer’s suffer a 2.5% brain shrinkage annually.

Colors show expansion (red/yellow) or contraction (blue/light blue) of the brain of 0.3 to 1.0 mm, with the lightest colors indicating the biggest change. There is no clear visible pattern of atrophy.

Those subjects who were treated with the Vitamin B cocktail demonstrated a 29.6% decrease in brain shrinkage, with some demonstrating a 50% reduction in shrinkage rate- which means that the effects of cognitive impairment were reversed (in this aspect).   All of these vitamins are critical in controlling the levels of homocysteine in the blood; patients with higher levels are typically found suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and faster brain shrinkage.  (Homocysteine may also be a factor in cardiovascular disease- in particular, plaque deposition.)

It may be that the vitamin B cocktail not only affected the levels of homocysteine in the blood (this was measured as part of the study, as well), but also served as some sort of protection for the brain. Rises in the subjects’ folate and cobalamin levels were also significant, but vitamin B₆ levels  (as manifested by cystathionine) did not seem to be a factor.  (As we stated earlier, these vitamins are found in green vegetables, fish, eggs, and meat.  And, as discussed in that article, taking too much vitamin B is detrimental.   But, we also know, as we age, we fail to insure that we maintain proper diet…This is a great reason to rethink that practice- or have our (grown) children insure that we do!  And, it may be another case of when metabolic conditions require the addition of qualified adjuvants to our diet, when recommended by our physicians. )

Further study is ongoing to determine what levels of the vitamin B cocktail are best and if there are detrimental affects due to the administration of the cocktail.

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